Month: March 2013

Tradition vs. Custom for Protestants

Part of my ongoing Correspondence series, featuring replies to people who contacted me and asked questions, mostly when I served as a priest (2008-2013). Dear M., “Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle” (II Thessalonians 2:15). I have long thought that Evangelical Protestants approach problems… Continue reading Tradition vs. Custom for Protestants

New Calendarism, Vaganteism, and the True Orthodox Church

In the last century, a new heresy permeated the Orthodox world, the heresy of ecumenism.  This umbrella term encompasses several related problems that have been eating away at Orthodox life for more than eighty years.  For the purposes of this article, we will use ecumenism as an umbrella term to refer to the problems of… Continue reading New Calendarism, Vaganteism, and the True Orthodox Church

On Wayward Parishioners

Just so we’re clear on something: Priests Have Feelings, Too! One of the worst feelings a priest has is when parishioners he is particularly close to depart into error (for instance, leaving the Orthodox Church). Sure, anyone leaving is a sad occasion, but when people you have worked closely with and spent a great deal of… Continue reading On Wayward Parishioners

African Orthodox Christianity

The following is the first in a new series for the site; I will begin posting correspondence that I had with various individuals which contain information of interest to a broader audience, with names and identifying information redacted for privacy. In this particular case, unfortunately I never heard back from the individual addressed below, but… Continue reading African Orthodox Christianity

On the Aerial Demons Encountered at Death (from the Evergetinos)

Hypothesis X The soul, after its departure from the body, undergoes testing in the air by evil spirits which encounter it and attempt to impede its ascent. A. From the Life of St. Anthony the Great 1. St. Anthony the Great was once preparing to eat at his normal time; according to custom, he stood… Continue reading On the Aerial Demons Encountered at Death (from the Evergetinos)

References to the Toll Houses in the Canon of the Parting of the Soul from the Body

Here are just a few of the many references to the Toll Houses which are found in the Canon of the Parting of the Soul from the Body found in the Great Book of Needs(these are from the St. Tikhon’s edition). “Noetic roaring lions have surrounded me, seeking to carry me away and bitterly torment me.… Continue reading References to the Toll Houses in the Canon of the Parting of the Soul from the Body

Old vs. New Calendar: Frequently Asked Questions

Q.  I’m Greek Orthodox but I’ve never heard of the “Old Calendar.”  Could you please explain what this means? A.  All Orthodox in the world used the Julian Calendar, which is currently thirteen days behind our modern civil calendar, until March 1924.  At that time, the bishops of the Church in Greece unilaterally converted their… Continue reading Old vs. New Calendar: Frequently Asked Questions